Amex Membership Rewards – 33% bonus on transfers to Avios

I recently posted on the benefits of swapping the BOV Flypass (now “Skypass”) credit card for the BOV Amex card.

The key point to this is that you earn Membership Rewards points with an Amex card (as opposed to the poorly rewarded BOV Loyalty Rewards points).

Membership Rewards points can be exchanged for a number of global frequent flyer/hotel points, including Avios. Again as previously noted, you can use Avios on Air Malta (20,000 Avios plus tax for a UK-Malta return).

Of particular note, you can currently transfer your Membership Rewards points into the British Airways Executive Club (free to join), and receive a 30% bonus Avios before 31 August 2013.

Membership Rewards transfer to Avios at a ratio of 3:2. That means, with the 30% bonus, around 23500 Membership Rewards points would get you a return to the UK with Air Malta.

You do not, of course, have to use your Avios on Air Malta (and if you do, you will need to transfer your Avios from your BA Executive Club account (where they cannot be spent on Air Malta) to a standard Avios account, available via Avios.com, which is a simple process).

Finally, I was interested to see the hitherto poorly publicised BOV Amex card was a front page advert in the Times of Malta yesterday. Fingers crossed this means that the card will be increasingly pushed by BOV/Amex, and more promotions will be forthcoming as a result. Certainly, I think any serious Malta reward points collector should hold a BOV Amex card.